PHOTOS: 20 Artists Who Got Their Start on Social Media

2 weeks ago

One of the best ways to build a fan following is to start posting covers of your faves on social media — just look at the 20 artists below who were discovered via platforms like YouTube, Vine, Tumblr, etc. From Justin Bieber to Shawn Mendes to The Weeknd and many more, check out 20 artists who started out on social media here!

Justin Bieber: Justin was famously plucked from Internet obscurity thanks to his viral YouTube cover of the Chris Brown track “With You.” It caught Usher’s eye, and Justin was signed to his label shortly after.

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Shawn Mendes: Shawn got his start on Vine, where he posted seven-second performance clips and eventually amassed a following large enough to garner media attention, which — coupled with that voice and John Mayer-esque guitar riffs, of course — propelled him to the superstardom status that he’s earned today.

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Charlie Puth: Charlie got his start posting comedy and cover videos on YouTube years before hitting viral fame with his Wiz Khalifa-featured track, “See You Again.”

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5SOS: 5 Seconds of Summer were just four Aussie boys posting covers of everything from A Day to Remember to Chris Brown on YouTube and building a following of fans — that is, until Louis Tomlinson tweeted about them and the band toured with One Direction for two tours. The rest, as they say, is history.

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Madison Beer: Madison Beer was discovered on YouTube by Justin Bieber (paying it forward, that Biebs) when she was just 13 and covering Etta James’ “At Last.” She’s since become a viral sensation with over 9M Instagram followers and is a huge social media influencer.

Halsey: Halsey got her start on Tumblr, where she quickly gained a cult following. After posting her song “Ghost” on the mini-blogging platform, labels reached out — seemingly overnight, according to Halsey herself — eager to sign her.

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Troye Sivan: Troye's good looks, Aussie accent, music covers and incredibly emotional coming out story undoubtedly made him a YouTube sensation. And speaking of social media, his tweets are funny and relatable as hell.

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Cody Simpson: YouTube for everyone! Cody Simpson also owes his success to posting covers on YouTube, which eventually led to his discovery and his ever-evolving music career (from R&B-type tunes to indie-folk, Cody’s die-hards never left his side).

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Austin Mahone: Like Justin Bieber before him, Austin hit it big thanks to YouTube, and has garnered enough dedicated Mahomies to tour, release multiple EPs (and singles with Pitbull), before even putting out a full-length album.

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Tori Kelly: Before “American Idol,” Tori was known on YouTube at just 14 for posting covers before eventually being discovered by (who else?) Scooter Braun.

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Soulja Boy: Soulja Boy tell ‘em — and tell ‘em he did, thanks to his viral work on MySpace and SoundCloud (not to mention his infamous “Crank That” dance).

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Lindsey Stirling: The choreographed electronic violinist owes her success to her YouTube channel, with her super unique videos (again, we repeat: choreographed electronic violinist) gaining a ton of attention — and a ton of fans.

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Lana Del Rey: Lana generated a significant amount of buzz when she posted the low-budget music video for her single “Video Games,” which culminated in an invitation from “Saturday Night Live” to perform on the show.

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Becky G: Before Becky G was breaking ground by playing the first queer Power Ranger, she was just a teenager on YouTube, covering songs, building a following, and letting her talent do the work.

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Darren Criss: Before Darren Criss was on “Glee” and in Computer Games — his band with his brother, Chuck — he was found thanks to his role as Harry Potter in “A Very Potter Musical” YouTube parody.

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Karmin: The “Brokenhearted” band were initially discovered on YouTube, covering hit song after hit song before making it big with their endlessly addictive original tune in 2012.

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Alessia Cara: Like so many on this list, Alessia Cara started out as a teen on YouTube posting covers — and her own originals (“Here”) as well, all the while amassing a huge subscriber list and catching the eye of a record producer, who signed her to Def Jam.

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The Weeknd: Surprisingly enough, The Weeknd was actually first ~discovered~ on YouTube, where he uploaded only several cover songs on a mysterious account — one of which was highly-praised by Pitchfork, not an easy feat. The mystery surrounding the singer (not to mention his MJ-like vocals) soon made him blow up into the superstar that he is today.

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Psy: Psy’s “Gangnam Style” was the first video on YouTube to hit 1 billion views — and his pony-like dance that accompanied the breakout hit certainly helped.